Beijing recently passed a regulation that will ban drones across the city starting from November 15th. As the effective date of the new regulation approaches, the public has criticized the official buyback prices as being similar to selling scrap, leading to a surge in postings on second-hand platforms seeking to sell drones and recoup some money.
On September 11th, the Standing Committee of the Beijing Municipal People’s Congress of the Communist Party of China amended the “Regulations on the Management of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in Beijing,” which states that the entire administrative area of Beijing is designated as a controlled airspace for unmanned aerial vehicles. It prohibits flying unmanned aerial vehicles within Beijing, holding and storing drones and their core components, as well as transporting and carrying related equipment and core components into the administrative area of Beijing.
The new regulations will officially take effect on November 15th. Violators of the regulations may have their drones and core components confiscated, and individuals may be fined 500 to 5,000 yuan, while organizations may be fined 5,000 to 50,000 yuan.
Currently, Beijing officials offer three channels for disposal: on-site repurchase, scrapping and recycling, and mailing drones out of the city. Participating in the on-site buyback does not mean compensation will be based on the purchase price.
According to the plan published by the Beijing municipal government, individuals who have had their drones verified by the public security organ may dispose of them at designated repurchase points from September 12th to October 31st, with the government subsidizing 30% of the repurchase price, up to a maximum of 3,000 yuan per unit. From November 1st to November 14th, the subsidy proportion will decrease to 15% of the transaction price, with a maximum of 1,500 yuan per unit.
For scrapped recycling, there will be a subsidy of 200 yuan per unit from September 12th to October 31st, and 100 yuan per unit from November 1st to November 14th.
The valuation process during actual disposal has become a focus of concern for some drone owners.
Recently, a Beijing drone owner stated that their DJI Mini 2, purchased for around 3,000 yuan, was offered about 360 yuan during the buyback process. The owner believed the price was too low, calling it “robbery.” As a result, they chose not to go through the buyback process and instead decided to give the drone to a friend in another city.
With the deadline for disposal approaching, there has been a recent surge in postings on second-hand platforms for selling drones. One Beijing seller listed a drone that had only been flown twice and had a market value of 3,000 yuan for 1,870 yuan, with a note saying, “No returns accepted, and cannot be returned.”
Apart from selling and recycling, many residents are sharing aerial photographs taken with their drones on social media as a farewell. One netizen said, “My drone has been through the cycle of seasons with me, climbed the Great Wall countless times, accompanied me to five countries, and flown over 1,000 meters through the clouds. I hope you continue to achieve new feats.”